IN 1980, DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO CARRIED OUT A PLAN TO RID THE COUNTRY OF ALL "UNDESIRABLE" PEOPLE, THE CRIMINALS, THE DESPERATE. THIS SMALL WINDOW IN WHICH CASTRO VOLUNTARILY LET PEOPLE LEAVE CUBA BECAME KNOWN AS THE MARIEL BOAT LIFT. THESE PEOPLE SEARCHING FOR A NEW LIFE, FREE OF OPPRESSION, SUCCUMBED TO INVENTING MAKE-SHIFT RAFTS, UNSAFE BOATS, OR ANY OTHER TYPE OF HOMEMADE CRAFT OVER TRAVELING ON CROWDED SHIPS. ON ONE OF THOSE SHIPS WAS FOUR YEAR OLD ALEJANDRO VALDES. ALONG WITH HIS MOTHER, OLDER BROTHER AND SISTER, JAKBOY WAS AMONG THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO LEFT EVERYTHING BEHIND TO BRAVE THE DANGEROUS SEA TO COME TO AMERICA FOR A CHANCE AT A NEW LIFE. ONCE IN AMERICA THE FAMILY WAS SENT TO A REFUGEE CAMP IN WISCONSIN. JAKBOY'S FATHER, A POLITICAL PRISONER WHO ARRIVED SEPARATELY IN MIAMI A FEW WEEKS EARLIER, MADE THE TRIP TO WISCONSIN TO CLAIM HIS FAMILY AND BRING THEM SOUTH TO MIAMI. GROWING UP IN ALLAPPATTAH, AN URBAN AREA SITUATED IN DOWNTOWN MIAMI WAS TOUGH, THE FAMILY DIDN'T HAVE MUCH MONEY. MUSIC WAS ALWAYS A BIG PART OF JAKBOY'S LIFE, HE STARTED EXPERIMENTING WITH MUSIC BY BANGING BEATS ON SCHOOL HALLWAY LOCKERS WHILE LEARNING HOW TO RAP ON TOP OF THE NOISE. WHILE LIVING IN MIAMI, JAKBOY FACED A HARD UP BRINGING. WHILE LEARNING HOW TO SURVIVE ON MIAMI STREETS, HE ACQUIRED THE SKILLS NECESSARY TO MAKE THE RIGHT MOVES AND PURSUE THE FIRE HE HAD BURNING INSIDE, WHICH WAS TO MAKE MUSIC FOR THE MASSES. EVEN THOUGH JAKBOY IS A PRODUCT OF A GOOD HOME WITH A SUPPORTIVE FAMILY, THE INFLUENCE OF THE STREETS WAS HARD TO IGNORE. HIS MUSIC IS AN OUTPOUR OF THE STRUGGLES THAT HE ENDURED, BOTH GOOD AND BAD. LEX THE JAKBOY IS CURRENTLY BEING FEATURED ON THE TELEMUNDO/NBC PRIME TIME HIT REALITY TELEVISION SHOW, NUEVAS VOCES DE AMERICA. IN ADDITION, HE IS WRITING AND RECORDING HIS DEBUT CD WITH ASSISTANCE OF INDUSTRY HEAVY WEIGHT EMILIO ESTEFAN (HAS CO-WRITTEN A NUMBER OF TRACKS) AND IS THE SOURCE OF CONSTANT INSPIRATION. TONY MARDINI AND TOM MC WILLIAMS ARE PRODUCING THIS
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